William Shakespeare's Life and Works

William Shakespeare’s Life and Works

          William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 and died on April 23, 1616.  During his lifetime and after his death, he was nicknamed the “Bard of Avon.”  When Shakespeare was eighteen years old, he married Anne Hathaway of the town London.  She was 8 years older than he was.  They had three children and their son named Hamnet later died in childhood.  Shakespeare’s father was quite a prosperous merchant as a glove maker, which allowed William to attend school as a boy and study grammar Latin classes.  In 1580, Shakespeare left Stratford and moved to London to write and act in plays.

Throughout his writing career, William Shakespeare wrote 39 plays and 154 sonnets and poems. 

         

Shakespeare’s London

          William Shakespeare was living during an exciting time in the history of Great Britain.  Queen Elizabeth I was the ruler of Great Britain and she reigned for 60 years.  The time period (1500’s – 1600’s) was known in Great Britain as the Renaissance, which means “rebirth.”  Three areas in which Great Britain was thriving in during this period of its history were literature, visual art, and architecture.  After the above monarch (ruler) dies, King James I rose to the throne. 

One popular form of entertainment during Shakespeare’s life was the theatre.  William Shakespeare worked with a company of actors called The Lord Chamberlain’s Men and they performed their plays at the famous Globe Theatre, located on the bank of the Thames River.  For the first time in English history, people of all classes were allowed to attend play performances at the Globe Theatre.  Three interesting facts about this theatre were burned to the ground in 1613, built for The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, reopened in 1614.  During Shakespeare’s drama writing career, he wrote four of the most accomplished tragedies in literary history.  These four tragedies that he wrote between of 1604-1607 were Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, and King Lear.  Eventually, Shakespeare’s London Theatre and other theatres were shut down by the religious groups and the bubonic plague (which wiped out the population of half of Europe).  In 1613, the Globe Theatre was demolished by fire due to malfunction of special effects. 

 After William Shakespeare’s death at the age of 52 his critic and friend Ben Johnson helped to gather all of Shakespeare’s works in order to get it published in one central bound book.   This collection was titled The First Folio.

Today, audiences all over the world are still captivated by such plays as the one we are about to read entitled A Midsummer Night’s Dream one of William Shakespeare’s most popular love comedy. 

Sites

• http://www.folger.edu/Content/Discover-Shakespeare/Shakespeare-FAQs.cfm
• http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/works.htm
• http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/faq/faq.htm
• http://www.shakespeare-online.com/theatre/globe.html
• http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&tbo=d&biw=1366&bih=643&tbm=isch&tbnid=SYHBHYXfKJMk0M:&imgrefurl=http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/july2001.html&docid=mkwUgvZOdBINkM&imgurl=http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/images/exhibitions/month/bd8b1_tp.jpg&w=400&h=650&ei=lbGyUMDrMIaZ0QGLuIDIAw&zoom=1&iact=hc&dur=599&sig=111536950778975449189&page=1&tbnh=132&tbnw=80&start=0&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:106&tx=75&ty=209&vpx=1099&vpy=27&hovh=286&hovw=176
• http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&tbo=d&biw=1366&bih=600&tbm=isch&tbnid=lKUhwgKMhDsy0M:&imgrefurl=http://www.bardweb.net/globe.html&docid=XH-vcpSaVx8xiM&imgurl=http://www.bardweb.net/images/house.jpg&w=246&h=187&ei=brCyUISvFY6w0AGkn4HIDQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&dur=105&sig=111536950778975449189&page=1&tbnh=144&tbnw=179&start=0&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:151&tx=75&ty=78&vpx=12&vpy=213&hovh=149&hovw=196
• http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&tbo=d&biw=1366&bih=643&tbm=isch&tbnid=JINd6uYF0KpOxM:&imgrefurl=http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WilliamShakespeare&docid=SLKIg1DnfmjvvM&imgurl=http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/william-shakespeare.jpg&w=311&h=441&ei=xq-yUP2nAs-z0QHx5IGQDA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=0&sig=111536950778975449189&page=1&tbnh=154&tbnw=109&start=0&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:0,i:118&tx=40&ty=123

Blog 6

The book I that I read this quarter was The Second Summer of the Sisterhood.  It is written by Ann Brashares.  I started reading this book on November 9^, 2012 and I stopped reading it on November 11, 2012.  I the number of pages I read is 127.  My rating for this book is ok because it is not as good as the first one in the series.  Out of 10, I give this book a 6.

I decided to write about prompt number 8.  This is a journal entry I think Carmen would write after she went on the double date with her boyfriend and her mom and her boyfriend.

Dear Diary,

                Today, I had to go to dinner with my mom and her boyfriend, David.  I tried to get out of going by saying that I was going out with my boyfriend, Porter.  As soon as I said that, my mom told me to invite him to come.  I started freaking out because I didn’t really have plans to go out with Porter.  When we got to the restaurant, Porter tried to ask me if I wanted to share an appetizer with him.  I completely ignored him.  Not on purpose, but because I was thinking about why any guy would want to date my mom.  I kept ignoring him the whole time because I was too worried about what my mom was doing.  I have a feeling Porter isn’t going to want to go out with me again.

Love,

                Carmen

Short Story Authors

Saki

·Real name is Hector Hugh Munro

·Born on December 18, 1870

·Also known as H. H. Munro

·Died on November 16, 1916

·Born in Burma

·British short story author

·First worked as a journalist

·Two of his works are Tobermory and The Open Window

Edgar Allen Poe

·Born on January 19, 1809

·Died on October 7, 1849

·Attended the University of Virginia in 1826

·Attended The U.S. Military Academy at West Point

·Known as “Father of the Detective Story”

·Published his first book in 1827

·First book- Tamerlane and Other Poems

·Author of The Raven

·Best known for his stories and poems of horror and mystery

O’Henry

·Real name is William Sydney Porter

·Born on September 11, 1862

·Died on June 5, 1910

·Born in Greensboro, North Carolina

·Author of The Last Leaf and The Gift of the Magi

·Released for prison in 1902

·Most representative collection is The Four Million

Julie Otsuka

·Born on May 15, 1962

·Born and raised in Palo Alto, California

·An undergraduate of Yale

·Failed at becoming an artist

·First novel- When the Emperor was Divine

·Second novel- The Buddha in the Attic

·Still alive

Sources

      http://www.biography.com/people/hh-munro-9418240
http://www.biography.com/people/edgar-allan-poe-9443160?page=2

      http://www.biography.com/people/william-sydney-porter-9542046

http://www.julieotsuka.com/about/

http://goldsea.com/Personalities/Otsukaj/otsukaj.html

My Book of the Quarter

The book I am reading this quarter is called The Second Summer of the Sisterhood.  It is the second book in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series.  There are four main characters: Lena, Tibby, Bridget, and Carman.  In the first book the girls found a pair of jeans that fit all of them perfectly.  They send the pants to each other throughout the summer.  I chose this book because I read the first one last year and I really wanted to know what happened during the next summer.

http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&biw=1249&bih=615&tbm=isch&tbnid=7vybNkP77_HYwM:&imgrefurl=http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/ann-brashares/second-summer-of-sisterhood.htm&docid=z8fFfs71xeMArM&imgurl=http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n28/n143245.jpg&w=316&h=477&ei=YpuFUOrVIqnJ0QHWz4DQCg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=558&vpy=217&dur=1985&hovh=276&hovw=183&tx=112&ty=170&sig=115920953640852169196&page=1&tbnh=148&tbnw=97&start=0&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0,i:86

Short Story

I remember the first time I did my round off, back handspring, back tuck by myself.  I was really scared to try it.  One of my coaches told me that she would give me three pieces of chocolate if I did it.  My coach that was spotting me walked to the side of the matt and told me to go.  I started to run and I decided to convince myself that she was standing there.  Before I knew it, I was landing my back handspring and throwing my tuck!  I felt my feet hit the ground and I was shocked!  I landed it!  When I was walking off the matt, my coach tried to give me candy.  I told her that I didn’t want it because my reward was being able to land my tumbling pass.  I ran as fast as I could to the corner of the matt and tried it again.  When I landed it for the second time I almost cried.  I was so happy that I couldn’t stop smiling!

This story really relates to my life because cheerleading is my life!  I have been cheering for nine years and I do nothing else.  My story ends in a happy way.  I finally landed my tumbling pass that I have wanted to be able to do since the first time I saw it.  I chose this story because it is probably the most exciting moment in my entire cheerleading career.   

Cheerleading: A Sport or an Activity?

Alex Kropkowski

Mrs. Zurkowski

English 9 Greens

21 September 2012

Cheerleading:

A Sport or an Activity?

            How would you feel if someone told you that your favorite sport shouldn’t be considered a sport?   A few years ago, the NCAA decided that cheerleading was no longer going to be considered a sport.  They believe that cheerleading requires no athletic ability and only involves standing on the sidelines leading cheers.  They refuse to look at how it has evolved through the years.  According to Dictionary.com, the word sport is defined as “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature” (Sport).  Cheerleading fits this definition.  Cheerleading is a co-ed, competitive, athletic activity that requires skill and physical expertise and should be considered by the NCAA as a college sport.

There was a time when cheerleading did not require the athletic ability that it does today.  Cheerleading began when a medical student at the University of Minnesota picked up a megaphone in 1898 and led his school’s football team to victory.  "Historically, cheerleading has been about supporting athletes, not about being an athlete,” states Barbara Osborne.  Over the years, cheerleading has evolved into a sport with rigorous competitions and requirements.  In the 1920's, women started adding flips and jumps to their routines (Thomas).  Today, competitive cheer teams often acquire many of their motions from traditional sideline cheerleading (Pom-pom shake-up).  However, they have taken these basic motions and applied them to complicated  routines that require cheerleaders to bend and twist their bodies while flipping in the air (Smith).

Like other sports, cheerleading is a complicated activity that requires dedication, commitment, and skill (Arndt).  Cheerleaders practice almost every night, and they are always running the routine over and over in their heads; only a very dedicated person can handle the conditioning and rigorous training that these athletes must endure.  Unlike other sports, cheerleading does not a have specific season in which it occurs.  Cheerleaders are committed year-round.  They have no offseason.  They dedicate six to twenty hours every week to practicing or conditioning.  In addition, cheerleading requires ample amounts of athletic ability.  “While cheerleading evokes images of pompoms and pleated skirts, it has relied on increasingly athletic feats of grace and strength” (Thomas).  A typical cheer routine will include several different parts that all require specific athletic talents.  A cheerleader must be able to dance, stunt, jump and tumble all during a two minute and thirty second time period.  C.J. Ryan said "There are very few sports where you need to be strong in the plethora of ways that are needed to be a successful cheerleader. We regularly lift people over our heads and throw and twist our bodies all over the place in ways people couldn't imagine” (Smith).

Typically, a sport allows males and females to participate.  This applies to cheerleading too.  50% of the cheerleading community is made up of males (Torgovnick).  The female cheerleaders need the male cheerleaders’ strength to throw them high enough in the air so that they can twist and flip (Smith).  There are some guys, like C.J. Ryan who take real pride in their sport, "If someone was trying to tell me that cheer was a game for girls, I'd ask them what's more amazing - a bunch of guys chasing each other around a field after a little ball, or a group of 36 people (with 24 boys) putting on a visual spectacular with nothing but the human body, imagination and a 2-minute, 30-second piece of music?” (Smith).  Ryan’s comparison of a game with a ball to cheerleading clearly proves that it is just as much of a sport as any other game out there.

Many people say that cheerleading is not a sport because it requires no athletic ability.  These people believe that cheerleading is simply jumping around with a set of pompoms.  As Leanne Livingston said, "Anybody can try out for the cheer squad" (Arndt).  This is not true.  Cheerleading requires a technical set of skill, guts, and fitness (Thomas).  In order to perform the spectacular stunts and tumbling needed to compete, these athletes must be in incredible physical condition.  One wrong move could cause serious injury.  Every time a cheerleader steps on the mat, he/she is putting his/her life at risk.  Just like soldiers talk about their battle scars, cheerleaders talk about their injuries as symbol of resilience (Torgovnick).  Just as other athletes, they compete for the love of the sport.

Because the NCAA does not consider cheerleading a sport, students across the country are not entitled to the funding that is given to other college sports.  This includes funding not only for the existence of a cheerleading team, but also for scholarships and funding for travel to competitions.  Currently, the NCAA is considering two applications for cheerleading to become an emerging sport.  This could be the solution cheerleaders have been waiting for.  By recognizing cheerleading as a sport at the college level, it would open the doors for colleges to provide sports funding to cheerleading squads.  This would allow for scholarships to be set up and for teams to be able to attend national competitions (Commentarista).

It is clear that cheerleaders are incredible athletes.  They are a combination of the strength of football players and the agility of dancers and gymnasts.  Male and female compete together as a team.  As Leanne Livingston said, "The teamwork involved is unlike any other sport. In cheer, every athlete is important at every moment. Everyone has a role and nobody is the star. All of your team members are depending on you” (Arndt).  Cheerleading is no longer just standing on the side leading cheers.  Today, there is no doubt that cheerleading is a sport that requires both skill and athletic ability.  It is time for the NCAA to recognize cheerleading as an official sport so that these athletes can compete with the same support as other sports have.  Cheerleaders practice, train, compete, and sacrifice themselves for their sport just like any other athlete does.  Why shouldn’t cheerleading be a sport?

 

Works Cited

Arndt, Sandy. "Is There Value in the Sport of Cheerleading?." Edmonton Journal. 10 Aug 2011: E.6. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 05 Sep 2012.

"Commentarista." Can Cheerleading Become a Sport? N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2012.

"Pom-pom shake-up: a judge rules that competitive cheerleading isn't a sport." Current Events, a   Weekly Reader publication 6 Sept. 2010: 7+. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 13      Sep. 2012.

Smith, Jennifer Ren?e. "Myth-Busters." American Cheerleader. Apr 2011: 43. SIRS Issues            Researcher. Web. 13 Sep 2012.

"Sport." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012.

Thomas, Katie. "Born on Sideline, Cheering Clamors to Be Sport." New York Times. 23 May        2011: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 05 Sep 2012.

Torgovnick, Kate. "Pom-poms and Circumstance." Sports Illustrated 31 Mar. 2008: 18. Student     Edition. Web. 13 Sep. 2012.

 

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Research Topic

     The book I read this summer was The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.  My first choice of a research topic is racism.  This topic has two sides because some people think that that people that are different should not be treated the same way.  My paper would argue that this is not ok.

     My second choice of a research topic is alcoholism.  People may argue that alcohol is a bad thing.  My paper would argue that alcohol can be both good and bad.  It is an individual's use of alcohol that makes it good or bad. 

The Absolutly True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alex Kropkowski

Alex Kropkowski

English 9 Greens

31 August 2012         

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

For summer reading, I read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.  It was about an Indian boy who decided that he was not going to do anything with his life if he stayed on the reservation.  He then went to a school off the reservation and he was shunned by his friend.  I chose this book because it looked interesting and people have told me that it is a good book.  This book deals with the issue of people not being accepted because of their ethnicity.  I really liked this book.  My favorite part was when the boy and his best friend made up and became friends again.  I would definitely recommend this book to someone else!

 

My Unique Profile

My name is Alexandra.  I went to Saint Margret School since first grade.  I have a mom, a dad, two sisters and a dog.  Cheerleading is my life!  I have cheered for the Fallston Cougars since I was five years old.  When I got to eighth grade, I cheered for my school.  Now, I’m on the varsity competition team for John Carroll.  When I was four, I did tap and ballet.  In the spring, when I was six, I played softball.  When I started middle school, I started playing lacrosse.  In high school I hope to make honor roll and make the junior varsity lacrosse team.  After high school, I want to get into a really good collage and make a collage cheerleading team.  I plan to get a well-paying job by getting good grades.   I would also like to be in at least one of the plays.  My all-time favorite movie is Grease!  I love it so much that I know every word!  I also like the show Glee.  It’s about a bunch of misfit students that sing about all of the problems that they have.  There is so much more to me than what people see!